Chapter 6 – Missions and Miracles Part 2
Edric's POV
The mission to kill the Manticora turned out to be quite profitable, I got a lot of money, mainly gold coins, this added to all the rewards I got from completing the previous missions, let's say that money is no longer an issue.
I am currently ranked A, a platinum plaque was hanging around my neck, but at the moment there is no mission that makes me quickly rise in Rank, so I have only been doing missions of Rank C and B, the process is slow, but maybe I can make it to Rank S.
"Why are you so serious?" Missa asked me from across the counter.
Oh! It seems that I was lost in thought, I'm in the Missa tavern, I decided to rest a little, I've been doing mission after mission.
"Nothing, just thinking." I replied to Missa as I took a sip of my drink.
"Do you mind telling me what those thoughts are?" Missa asked as she leaned across the counter and smiled at me.
"Just thinking how beautiful your eyes are."
Missa's face then turned red and she looked away "Oh! Thanks."
"Thanks for what? I said nothing." I asked confused.
"You dummy, don't play with maidens' hearts like that." Missa said as she touched the tip of my helm.
"Serious? So why don't you tell me what you want me to do? Want me to compliment your beautiful hair? Your wonderful smile? Or do you prefer something more physical?"
Missa's face turned even redder, she looked from left to right "Not here, I'm on my work schedule."
What does she mean by that? I said nothing.
"Could you bring me another drink?" I said as I held out my mug to Missa.
"Of course! I will be right back!" Missa stammered as she went to fill my mug.
Weird.
"HAHAHA!"
"HAHA HA!" Eupherbia chuckled from inside Edric's pouch.
"Humans, it's so easy to manipulate their feelings! Let's see if I can find something to entertain me." Eupherbia said as she poked her head out of Edric's pouch and looked around.
The tavern was in its usual condition, people drinking, eating, talking and gambling, until Eupherbia saw something that had the potential to generate an interesting situation.
There were two circular tables; one next to the other, there was a man sitting at each table, their chairs so that one was back to the other.
"Hm! Let's see what I can do." Quickly Eupherbia slipped out of Edric's pouch and flew up before anyone saw her.
Eupherbia flew until she reached the rafter that was between the wooden beams that supported the tavern; Eupherbia stepped on the rafter and began to walk until she was above the tables where the two men were.
"Time to start." Eupherbia said as she pointed a finger at the back of one of the men's head, magic formed on Eupherbia's fingertip, soon a small beam of magic shot out from her fingertip and hit the back of Eupherbia's head. One of the men, the force of the magic beam being equivalent to a strong slap to the back of the head.
"OUCH!" The man at the table on the right screamed as his head was thrown forward, his scream drew the attention of the people around him.
"What the hell was that idea?!" The man demanded of the second man who was at the table next to him as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about." The second man replied confused.
The first man, seeing the confusion on the second man's face, returned to his seat as he mumbled.
"HAHAHA!" Eupherbia laughed at the situation, and then she pointed her finger at the second man and shot a beam of magic towards his head.
"DAMN IT!" The second man yelled, and then he turned to the first man.
"What have I done to you?!" the second man demanded.
It was the first man's turn to be confused "I'm sorry but are you talking to me?"
The second man just grumbled and went back to his seat.
"HAHAHA!" Eupherbia laughed once more.
Eupherbia then pointed the index finger of each hand at the back of each man's head and fired a bolt of magic simultaneously.
"SON OF!"
"BASTARD!"
The two men stood and glared at each other with anger in their eyes.
"You must find that funny, right?" The first man asked.
"Strange, I was going to ask the same thing." The second man said as he balled his hand into a fist and punched the first man in his face.
Now the attention of the people in the tavern was focused on the two men.
The first man was thrown against the table where he was sitting earlier, when he got up he grabbed the plate with the food he had ordered and threw it towards the man who had punched him.
"TAKE THIS!"
The plate flew towards his assailant, but failed to hit him due to his target ducking, instead the plate hit the face of another man further ahead who was unrelated to the fight.
The man who had the plate thrown in his face got up from his chair, grabbed it with both hands and threw it towards the two men who were fighting, the two got out of the way, but the chair ended up hitting another customer of the tavern.
The customer who received a chair on the back got up from the floor, grabbed a glass bottle that was on his table and ran towards the fight with a war cry.
"AAAHHH!"
Soon a huge brawl had broken out in the tavern, tables and chairs went flying, hitting unsuspecting customers and increasing the number of individuals involved in the fight, meanwhile a faerie just laughed as she watched.
"HAHAHA!"
Edric's POV
"Here is your drink." Missa said as she placed the mug in front of me.
"Thanks. Tell me; shouldn't you try for the fight?" I said as I took a sip and pointed to the big fight going on behind me.
"Don't worry, this is normal around here. I will allow this fight as long as they pay for the damages, otherwise we will have a problem." Missa said as she closed her eyes, gave me a smile and slammed her fist into her palm.
"If you're okay with it." I said while shrugging and trying to take another drink, I ended up spilling some of my drink due to the bottle that broke on the back of my helmet.
CRASH!
"Are you okay?" Missa asked me worriedly.
"Yes, I've been hit with worse." I replied.
"If you say so, I think working as an adventurer eventually gets you used to taking hits."
"You can't even imagine."
"Speaking of adventurers, you have become a famous adventurer sir knight."
"Serious? I didn't know."
"You have to listen to the stories, a knight in shining armor accompanied by a black dragon has traveled across Midgard slaying monsters, capturing bandits and protecting the innocent. You look like a character from a fairy tale; all you need is a beautiful princess for you to pledge your eternal love." Missa said with a teasing smile.
I couldn't help but laugh a little "HAHAHA! Me, a fairytale hero? I can't imagine myself like that, don't believe all the stories out there, and considering my luck, the princess I meet might turn out to be a demon in disguise."
"Do not say that! You are ruining the tales I heard as a child!" Missa spoke as she crossed her arms.
"HAHAHA! I'm sorry about that; I'll try to be more of a gentleman going forward."
"I hope."
I tried to take another sip of my drink again, but this time I was interrupted by a chair that broke into my back.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Missa asked.
"Yes." I said with a bit of annoyance in my voice.
"Changing the subject, I heard interesting rumors about you." Missa said as she looked around the tavern.
"What rumors, exactly?" I asked.
"That you possess some kind of miraculous power that can cure any illness or injury."
I was silent, I'm not surprised that rumors were created due to what I've been doing, probably each one more exaggerated than the last, I'm not that good with healing miracles, these people should stop looking for me and look for a capable cleric.
"As I said before Missa, don't believe all the stories out there, I've only been doing small good deeds for these people, but I believe there are more capable people for the job."
"You may doubt yourself Edric, but the people you helped are grateful." Missa said with a smile.
Hm! I'm a good person? I've questioned that since what happened in the defilement valley.
I tried to drink my drink once more, and once again I was interrupted, this time by a table thrown at my back, I took a deep breath.
CRACK!
I heard the sound of something breaking, I felt something dripping through my hand, and I had crushed the wooden mug.
"Don't worry Missa, I'll pay for it." I said as I picked me up.
"What will you do?" Mass asked me.
"End this quarrel." I said as I placed my hand in the bottomless bag and equipped an Iron Knuckle in each hand.
"Edric? What you…" Mass didn't have time to finish as Edric had jumped into the middle of the fight, all that could be heard next was the screams of pain from those involved.
"MY LEG!"
"MY ARM!"
CRACK!
"AAAHHH!"
One of the customers had been thrown out of the tavern through one of the windows. Missa ducked, allowing another customer to fly over her and hit the drinks rack behind the counter.
Unfortunately due to the fight that was going on, no one noticed the little fairy that was floating among the customers, this fairy was using her magic to remove the coins from the customers' pockets and purses and put them inside Edric's bottomless purse, all while laughing .
Then Eupherbia dove into the bottomless pit and watched the fight with her head outside.
This was nothing more than entertainment for the fairy.
TIMESKIP
Edric's POV
"Here it is." I said while handing some gold coins to Missa.
"At least you paid for the damages." Missa said as she counted the coins.
"If everything is resolved, I believe it is time to leave."
"Good trip! And be careful with your coins."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You do not know? There is a thief in town; small objects have been disappearing for some time, coins, rings, bracelets, hand mirrors. Keep an eye on your coins."
"Thanks for the warning Missa, until we meet again."
"You're welcome! Rank up in the guild soon! When you reach rank S we will have a celebration!" Missa said as she waved goodbye.
I waved back and left the tavern. A celebration? It doesn't look that bad.
TIMESKIP
As I walked through the streets, a delicious smell entered my helmet, looking to the side, I saw I was in front of a bakery, entering the bakery I saw several types of desserts on display, cakes, pies, cookies and much more.
As I approached, I saw a gentleman on the other side, probably the confectioner.
"Hi how can I help you?" The confectioner asked me.
I slammed my hand down on the counter and dropped a handful of coins.
"A little bit of everything, please."
The confectioner just smiled back.
TIMESKIP
I had finished putting the last bag of desserts in my bottomless bag; I bought a little bit of everything, now all I have left is to return to the inn. Maybe tomorrow I'll find some new mission?
Meanwhile inside the Bottomless Bottom
The bottomless bag is one of the greatest inventions of Sorcerer Geri, friend of Sage Freke and known throughout Boletaria as a craftsman of magic items. The bag can store different items in almost unlimited quantities, weapons, armor, rings; it was the perfect item for those who seek to be prepared for all kinds of situations.
Some believe it is possible to live inside a bottomless pool, just take food and water with you when you enter the pool, but nobody would do that, would they? Who would be foolish enough to live inside a magical object of infinite space? Well, there was one person, a fairy named Eupherbia, who was currently lying in a pile of stolen objects, having stolen and hidden from Edric's bottomless purse.
"Eupherbia, you did the right thing in following this human!" The fairy said to herself as she got up.
"Look around, where in the Land of the Forest would you have gotten so many treasures?" Eupherbia said as she took a gold ring encrusted with a ruby and placed it on her head like a crown.
"You finally managed to change your life, now you are far away from those simple-minded fairies!" Eupherbia said as she walked towards a silver-adorned hand mirror, on the way Eupherbia grabbed a gold chain and wrapped it around her waist like a belt.
Eupherbia started posing in front of the mirror as she spoke to her reflection "Those stupid fairies only care about themselves. You saw what happened, the moment that pathetic, incompetent king was devoured by the dragon, and everyone else started killing each other to decide who would be the next king."
"But you differ, don't you? You've always wanted to get away from that boring forest, haven't you? How do humans even say? You're a country girl wanting to go to the big city." Eupherbia then opened an ornate box that was next to the mirror, it was a makeup box belonging to a noblewoman.
"Remember what your mother used to say, 'Don't end up like me, if you have a dream, go after it. '" Mother… Likely the only decent faerie in all of Midgard, she gave up her dreams to pursue love. And what did that bastard I call Dad do when he found out my mother was pregnant? He abandoned her! Fairies, only care about themselves! I hope that damn bastard got eaten by a toad!
Eupherbia then put lipstick on her mouth and powder on her cheeks and returned to pose in front of the mirror "Mom, can you see where I am right now? Don't worry, I'm following my dream. I plan to accompany this strange human for a while longer, he is what humans call an adventurer, and they travel all over Midgard. Maybe then I can finally see what lies beyond the forest where we lived."
"I won't end up like other fairies, I won't turn into a bitter old woman, and I won't be squashed like a mosquito by someone who's tired of being teased. Just watch me, I'll make you proud." Eupherbia said as she walked away from the mirror and returned to the pile of stolen goods.
Suddenly, a light flashed above Eupherbia, forming a perfect circle around her.
"Mother?" Eupherbia asked while looking towards the light, suddenly a dark spot formed in the middle of the light, this spot started to enlarge and a shadow formed where Eupherbia was.
"What is it?" Eupherbia asked as she looked up, the fairy's eyes widened as she realized what was happening, Edric had dropped something into the bottomless bag and it was falling towards her.
"AAAHHH!" Eupherbia screamed as she ran away, narrowly escaping being crushed.
Looking at the object that had fallen, it was a large package wrapped in fabric with a small string keeping the fabric tied together; the smell of something tasty started to come out of the package.
"Hm! What is it?" Eupherbia asked as her mouth watered, the fairy approached the package and pulled the string causing it to open, and its contents amazed the fairy. Sweets of all kinds were there, cake, cookies, pies, everything the fairy could imagine.
"Thank you human!" Eupherbia screamed as she threw herself at the pile of sweets, after all she would never get that kind of food in the Land of Forests.
Outside the bottomless pouch, Edric was oblivious to the crunching sounds and crumbs coming out of his pouch.
Edric's POV
"So, what creature will we face today?" The black dragon asked me.
"I'm not sure; the entire quest said was there was something crashing airships in the Land of Mountains." I said as I looked around with my brass telescope.
"Facing an unknown enemy, foolish but a little exciting."
"I'm more concerned with what can bring down an airship."
"Lots of things can bring down an airship, like a dragon, a golem if it throws a rock far enough…"
"A big bird!"
"Not that much, I've fought airships before, they're not that fragile."
"A big bird!"
"I already told you that they are not that fragile, human."
"A BIG BIRD!" I yelled as I pointed to our right.
"What?!" The black dragon asked as he looked to the side.
The thing that was coming towards us was a large humanoid bird with blue feathers, it had arms and legs with three fingers on each and huge claws on the tip of each finger, two large wings came out of its back, the creature had a long elongated tail and neck, on its head was a slightly human face with a large beak.
"A Vrock!" The dragon screamed.
"KKKYYYAAAHHH!" The Vrock let out screech like an eagle and attacked us with its outstretched claws.
I quickly drew a crossbow from my bottomless pouch, aimed it at the Vrock and pulled the trigger; the dart flew and hit the Vrock in its chest, only for the dart to break harmlessly.
"It's no use! Vrocks have resistance to any non-magical attack!" The dragon flapped its wings stopping its flight slightly, thus allowing the Vrock to harmlessly pass in front of us.
Resistance to non-magical attacks? Resistance does not equal immunity.
"Dragon, let's go after him!" I yelled at the dragon.
"HAHAHA! No need to say it twice human!" The dragon flapped its wings and began chasing the Vrock.
I equipped my Sticky Compound Longbow and placed a sacred arrow in the bow, an arrow capable of dealing magic damage. I took aim at the Vrock and released my arrow.
The arrow left its bow and flew at great speeds towards the Vrock, hitting it in the back between its wings, the Vrock let out a roar of pain, not expecting its pursuer to possess something capable of hurting it, the Vrock was used to its natural resistance to any type of non-magical damage.
The Vrock looked back, trying to see if it was still being pursued, only to have to dodge another arrow that came towards it, but the Vrock didn't have much time to attack as a ball of fire spat by the black dragon almost hit it, causing an explosion.
For a few minutes that was all that happened, arrow after arrow, fireball after fireball the Vrock slowly took damage, the arrows hit its back and the explosions of fireballs while not hitting it directly, lightly burned its body. The Vrock, tired of fleeing, opened its wings, stopping its flight temporarily and letting the black dragon and Edric approach.
The Vrock turned its body facing Edric and the dragon, flapping its wings the Vrock shot towards its pursuers who, due to the great speed they were, were unable to stop in time, the Vrock using one of its sharp claws on its hand, slashed the black dragon on the right side of his neck.
"Damn plague!" The black dragon screamed in rage and chased the Vrock fervently.
"Wait!" Edric tried to warn the dragon, but it didn't listen.
The Vrock began to fly faster and faster and the dragon did the same, suddenly the Vrock opened its wings once more, stopping its flight and allowing the black dragon to approach, the Vrock prepared its claws and this time slashed the dragon black just above its left eye, blood began to seep over the dragon's eye preventing it from opening.
"Listen! That thing is teasing you, you're not going to get anywhere by letting it piss you off!" Edric said to the dragon.
"Shut up! I will not take a lecture from you! Let me finish off this creature like a true dragon should!" The black dragon replied.
"Why do I even try?" Edric said as he fired more arrows.
The black dragon continued to spit fireballs at the Vrock; the Vrock narrowly dodged each fireball but was burned by the explosions. The battle in the sky continued to the point where they reached the clouds, the Vrock was then hit by one of Edric's arrows, the pain distracting the Vrock enough to be hit directly by a fireball from the dragon.
BOOM!
A large cloud of smoke formed in the air.
"Finally!" The black dragon squealed in satisfaction and dashed towards the cloud of smoke.
"Wait for the smoke to clear!" Edric shouted, but the dragon did not hear.
The black dragon shot through the cloud of smoke like an arrow, but the Vrock was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did he go?!" The black dragon screamed as it flapped its wings, keeping it stationary in the air.
"Be careful, he could be anywhere!" Edric said as he looked at the clouds around him.
Edric and the dragon were surrounded by clouds, it was hard to tell left, right, up or down, and it was just a sea of white.
"KKKYYYAAAHHH!" A sound similar to an eagle echoed through the heavens.
Suddenly the black dragon and Edric were forced down, it was the Vrock, and it came from above and sank its claws into the black dragon's back.
"Get off me, disgusting creature!" The black dragon demanded, the Vrock's response was to pull its head back and then throw it forward, sinking its beak into the dragon's back.
"RRROOOAAARRR!" The black dragon roared in pain.
"Do something, we're going down!" Edric screamed, but there was nothing they could do, the three of them were already through the clouds and the Land of Mountains could be seen again.
Edric grabbed the dragon's paw and tried to separate the fingers that held him, but the dragon's grip was too strong. With a sigh, Edric equipped his catalyst in one hand and with the other he gripped the dragon's paw firmly.
"You will have to forgive me for that." Edric said as he pointed his catalyst at the dragon's paw and cast Soul Ray, the pain caused by the spell caused the dragon's paw to open and release Edric, but his hand on the dragon's paw stopped him from falling.
Edric then proceeded to climb the dragon's leg and hang onto its torso, Edric aimed his silver catalyst at the Vrock and cast several Soul Beams towards the Vrock, and the Vrock was pierced in the chest, right arm, and left wings, which was enough to make him release the dragon.
Finally free the dragon spread its wings slowing its fall and flapped them to regain altitude, as it raised the dragon faced Edric hanging on its torso.
"I didn't climb on your back, did I?" Edric asked with amusement in his voice.
The black dragon muttered something in irritation, realizing that Edric was technically right.
"This misshapen bird is causing us trouble." The black dragon said.
"We wouldn't be in so much trouble if a certain dragon wasn't so hard-headed." Edric answered.
"Don't you have anything better to say human?"
"Actually, I have, a plan to be specific."
"Oh! Would you like to share it with me?"
"With pleasure." Edric then told his plan to the dragon as they chased the Vrock.
The black dragon spat a ball of fire just below the Vrock, the explosion forcing it to rise, the Vrock tried to fly to the right, but was prevented by a Soul Ray that passed in front of it, but a ball of fire exploded just below the forcing upward once more, the Vrock tried to change direction, but another Soul Ray cut it off, eventually the Vrock reached the sea of clouds.
Looking down the Vrock saw Edric and the dragon approaching quickly and there was no sign that they would stop; the Vrock simply flapped its wings throwing it back and allowing the dragon to pass in front of it and disappear in the clouds above, a few seconds passed. They passed in complete silence, suddenly a shadow began to form in the clouds above the shadow formed the silhouette of a dragon.
The Vrock flapped its wings once more allowing the dragon to pass straight through once more, but there was something different, the human wasn't hanging onto the dragon's torso, in confusion the Vrock didn't notice the second silhouette that formed in the clouds above, the silhouette of a human.
"KKKYYYAAA!" The Vrock screamed in pain as Edric landed on its back and sank his Moonlight Greatsword into its flesh.
With one hand Edric grabbed the Vrock's wing and with the other he repeatedly pierced the Vrock's back with his sword.
The front of the Vrock among the clouds the black dragon appeared, with fury the black dragon sank its claws into the Vrock and sank its teeth into its neck, for a moment it seemed to be over, there was nothing more the Vrock could do, or at least that's what it looked like.
The Vrock took a deep breath and let out a stunning screech, a deafening noise hit Edric and the dragon, slowly their grip on the Vrock loosened and they began to fall, shaking his head Edric managed to recover from the screech, but now he was going to towards the ground.
"Dragon! Come on!" Edric called out to the black dragon, but there was no response.
"What are you waiting for?! Flap your wings and stop our fall!" But the dragon's eyes didn't open, he was unconscious.
"Son of a..." Edric joined his arms and legs and started to fall faster towards the dragon; Edric grabbed the dragon by one of its horns and started screaming in front of its face.
"Wake up! Wake up or we will die!" Edric screamed as he punched the dragon repeatedly in its forehead.
Looking down, Edric saw that the ground was getting closer.
"Is this how you want to die?! Falling from too high?! Because I've died like this several times and believe me, it's humiliating!" But he hears no response from the dragon.
The ground approached.
"WAKE UP!" Edric yelled one last time as he pulled his Dragon Bone Smasher from his pouch and slammed it down on the dragon's forehead.
CRACK!
"RRROOOAAARRR!" The dragon woke up roaring in pain, blood streaming from its forehead where it had been hit.
"What's happened?!" The dragon asked.
"Look!" Edric said as he pointed down.
The dragon's eyes widened when seeing the ground so close, the black dragon spread its wings trying to slow its fall, a few meters from the ground the dragon managed to prevent the direct impact against the ground, but it was not enough, the dragon managed to fly a few meters further for a few seconds, but he ended up hitting the ground, Edric clung to the dragon's horns and the two rolled along the ground of the Land of Mountains until they hit a large stone throwing them up and making them fall into the abyss below.
"AAAHHH!" All they could do was scream.
TIMESKIP
"Get off!" Edric yelled as he pushed the dragon's wing off him.
"You should be grateful that my body slowed the fall." The black dragon replied.
"I would appreciate it if you had done it willingly."
"But I am. Is it so hard to believe that I saved us out of the goodness of my heart?" The dragon asked with sarcasm in his voice.
"Listen here you..." Edric didn't have a chance to finish, as his bottomless pouch started to move, throwing itself out of the pouch towards the ground, it was the fairy Eupherbia, her face was green and she vomited on the ground shortly thereafter.
"What the fuck was that?! One moment I'm eating my sweets and the next everything starts to spin, throwing knives fly towards me, I'm almost crushed by a giant hammer, and an ax spins through the air and almost cuts my head off! What the hell were you doing?" Eupherbia called out to Edric and the dragon.
"Look, the cowardly fairy has decided to show up." The dragon answered.
"Have you been living in my bottomless pouch all this time?" Edric asked.
The fairy began to nervously look left and right, realizing that she had been discovered. "Look at the time, it's late, I think I should go home for dinner!"
Eupherbia tried to fly away, but her body was wrapped in Edric's hand, leaving only her head outside.
"AAAHHH!" The faerie screamed as Edric brought her closer to his helm.
"Listen here! You're not going anywhere! When we get back to the inn where I'm staying, we'll have a long talk! You got it?"
Eupherbia nodded her head.
"And if you try to run away, I'll turn you into dragon food!" Edric said as he pointed to the black dragon.
The dragon upon hearing this smiled at Eupherbia, showing all its teeth and licking them with its tongue. The little fairy gulped, understanding what her fate would be if she decided to run away.
"Great, now let's find out where we are." Edric released Eupherbia and the fairy began to float over his right shoulder.
Edric looked around, they were in a kind of cave, looking up Edric saw some light, it was the hole where they had fallen, and further ahead in the cave there was light too, probably the exit.
"Well, it looks like there's only one place to go." Edric said as he walked towards the light.
"What a brilliant observation." The dragon said sarcastically.
"As if you could do better." Eupherbia said to the dragon.
"What did you say?!" the dragon asked.
"NOTHING!" Eupherbia screamed as she hid behind Edric.
"I imagined." The dragon said with disdain.
"Behave, you two." Edric said.
Together they started walking through the cave, when they got outside, they were in a kind of large crater inside a mountain and inside that crater there were several destroyed airships.
"Well, looks like we found the airships that were taken down." The dragon said.
"Can we go home now?" Eupherbia asked.
"Hello? Is there someone here?" The three were interrupted by a male voice.
"Not yet." Edric answered.
"Help!" The voice continued.
On the left side of the crater was a crack in the earth, big enough for a person to fall into. Edric began to approach the crevice.
"Hello?" The voice continued.
"Shut up Decadus! You should waste less time screaming for help and spend more time trying to get us out of here!" Said a female voice.
"Being assaulted with such cruel words AAAHHH~~~" The male voice replied with a groan.
"Hello! Do you need help?" Edric said standing at the edge of the crevice.
"Yes!" The female voice screamed.
"But Lady said…" The male voice couldn't finish.
"Shut up!"
"AAAHHH~~~"
"Wait a minute, I'll get a rope."
Backing away from the rift, Edric began to search the crumbling airships for a rope, until he finally found one inside a wooden crate that had fallen from the cargo area of one of the airships.
Returning to the crevice, Edric tied the rope around a large boulder sticking out of the ground and dropped the other end into the crevice.
"Here is the rope!" Edric screamed.
"Thank you very much!" The male voice said.
The rope then began to move, a sign that someone was climbing on it.
"Let me help you." Edric said as he held out his hand to the person emerging from the crevice.
The person was a tall, middle-aged man with a well-built physique, with brown hair and green eyes.
"Thank you for your kindness sir…" The man asked.
"Edric." Edric answered.
"Thank you for your kindness Sir Edric, my name is Decadus." Decadus introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you Decadus." Edric said as he introduced as well.
The rope began to move again.
"Looks like my lady is already climbing, better go help her." Decadus said as he turned towards the crevice.
"Tell me Decadus. What are you and your lady doing here, and how did you end up inside this rift?"
"Oh! That! We came to investigate the missing airships when we were taken by surprise by the Vrock, our airship was taken down and we fell into this crater, luckily we survived the crash. As we ended up in the crevice… When my Mistress and I came out of the wreckage we saw one of our men waving to us, it looked like more people survived; he was asking for help, he said that some of our men fell into the crevice. As my Mistress and I approached the edge of the crevasse, the man kicked us down."
"Hm! This is familiar. Tell me by any chance was this man was called…" But Edric didn't have a chance to finish.
"Finally! Finally freedom from that damn hole! I was already getting tired of having to put up with that idiot's moans!" A girl said as she came out of the crevice.
"AAAHHH~~~!"
"Stop moaning!" The girl screamed.
Looking at the girl, Edric saw that it was the Intoner known as Four.
"You!" Four said as she pointed at Edric and raised her fists.
"Miss Four, what are you doing? This man helped us." Decadus asked Four.
"That knight was one of the people who attacked us during Zero's invasion of Cathedral City!"
Decadus' eyes widened and he went to the side of his Intoner as he assumed a fighting stance "I'm sorry Mister Edric, but as a person who wronged my Mistress, I must face you."
"I see, you are loyal to her, which I can respect." Edric said as he took Makoto out of his bag and cast the miracle Regeneration, the miracle's combination with the Regenerating Ring and Adjudicator's Shield being enough to overcome Makoto's health drain temporarily.
Holding Makoto with both hands, Edric prepared for the fight.
"Are you done rescuing these people yet?" The black dragon asked as he approached.
"Oh! It's that annoying brat! The Intoner Four! Finish her off!" Eupherbia said as she landed on Edric's shoulder.
Upon noticing the dragon, Four and Decadus' eyes widened.
"Decadus, we will have to summon my angel!" Four shouted to his disciple.
"As the Lady wishes." Decadus replied.
Four then began to sing, but suddenly she suffered a coughing fit, looking around Four saw that she was surrounded by a blue magic circle, Edric had conjured the miracle Anti-Magic Field.
Seeing that I couldn't summon his angel, Four broke out in a nervous sweat as Edric approached.
"Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot! How about we stop and talk like civilized people?" Four said as she extended her hand to Edric.
"Don't believe anything she says, that girl's heart is rotten and full of holes!" Eupherbia said.
"That is not true; I am a fair maiden with a pure heart!" Four replied.
"Are you sure? What about all the elves you slaughtered?"
"They were pirates, I was just handing them justice!"
"Don't believe her words Edric; she killed several elves while laughing with joy! She hates anyone who isn't human!" Eupherbia said to Edric.
"LISTEN HERE YOU FLYING PLAGUE!" Four screamed as she tried to grab Eupherbia, but she was stopped by Makoto's tip pointed at her face.
"Finish her off, Edric! Cut her to pieces! Smash her with your giant hammer! Pierce her heart with a spear! Turn her to ashes with your spells! Do what you want, but don't let this monster get away!" Eupherbia said as she named all the different ways Edric could kill Four.
"Decadus do something!" Four yelled as she hid behind Decadus.
Decadus began to look around nervously, looking for something that could save him from this situation.
"When you say all the ways I can die… I can't help myself… AAAHHH~~~… Being cut into pieces, crushed, burned… AAAHHH~~~". But all Decadus could do was groan at the thought of all the painful ways he could die.
Amazingly this seemed to work as Edric walked away from Decadus, if anyone could have seen Edric's face they would have seen an expression of utter disgust.
"That it Decadus! For the first time in your life, use that weird fetish of yours for something useful!" Four said from behind Decadus.
"That human has issues." The black dragon said with disgust in his voice.
"Pathetic!" Eupherbia said into Edric's shoulder.
"AAAHHH~~~!" Being insulted only pleased Decadus, and the groans drove Edric even further.
"ENOUGHT! I'VE WASTE ENOUGH TIME! STOP THESE NOISES AND FACE ME!" Edric said as he approached Decadus and his Intoner, but before he could attack, he was stopped by a screech that came from the sky.
"KKKYYYAAA!"
It was the Vrock, he had returned.
The Vrock was extremely injured from the previous fight, but he wasn't going to give up.
"Well, looks like he decided to come back for more." The black dragon said while smiling.
"I leave that to you Edric!" Eupherbia tried to run away, but couldn't get very far as Edric wrapped his hand around her.
"You're not going anywhere. Either you help me fight, or I'll hand you over to Vrock." Edric said to Eupherbia.
The faerie, seeing that there was no other option, nodded her head and began to float alongside Edric.
"That's the thing that's been crashing my airships! You will pay for this disgusting creature… I mean… I will not allow you to continue causing harm to the people of the Land of Mountains, so face my justice!" Four said as she turned to the Vrock.
"Well said Lady Four, I'm right by your side, just the thought of being torn apart by that thing's claws… AAAHHH~~~!"
"Not now Decadus!"
With a long sigh, Edric readied himself for the fight.
The Vrock let out a long screech and began to flap its wings generating large gales and spores from the body of the Vrock began to come out and be carried by the winds and covering the crater.
"Careful, these spores are poisonous!" Edric said, his poison resistance kicking in the moment the spores touched his body. Edric equipped his Poison Resistance Ring and ran towards the Vrock with Makoto in his hands.
"Don't take all the fun for you human!" The dragon said as he advanced towards the Vrock.
"Don't leave me here!" Eupherbia screamed as she followed Edric.
"Come on Decadus!" Four shouted to his disciple.
"Being poisoned and feeling my body slowly die… AAAHHH~~~!" Decadus groaned as he ran towards the battle.
The Vrock raised its right hand upwards and tried to squash the approaching Edric, Edric rolled forward, letting the Vrock hit the ground and slashed the Vrock across his thigh, passing underneath him. The Vrock tried to turn to attack Edric but was stopped by a head-butt to its chest courtesy of the black dragon; the Vrock then grabbed the black dragon by the sides of its neck sinking its claws into the dragon.
But before the Vrock could continue he was stopped by shots of magic that hit his face, it was Eupherbia; she started flying quickly around the Vrock while shooting magic at his body.
"I am here!" Eupherbia screamed as she dodged a blow from the Vrock.
"Here!" She said as she shot the Vrock in the back.
"Here!" This time she shot the Vrock in the neck.
The Vrock quickly turned towards Eupherbia and opened its beak with the intention of devouring her, but the Vrock was stopped by the absurd pain he felt in his back, Edric had cut off his left wing with a clean cut from Makoto, blood gushed from the wound like a river, Makoto's Curse possessed an insatiable bloodlust.
Vrock didn't have time to recover as he was met with a punch to the ribs on either side of the body, Four on the left side and Decadus on the right side.
The Vrock took another deep breath and let out another stunning screech, everyone in the crater clutched their ears in pain.
"Not this time!" The black dragon screamed as it spewed a jet of fire towards the Vrock's face.
The Vrock screeched in pain, shortly afterwards he was met by Four with a hook to the chin and by Decadus with a punch to the right side of the head, this stunned the Vrock long enough for Edric to cut him from top to bottom of the neck to the crotch with the Makoto sword.
Blood gushed from the wound and covered Edric, painting his armor red, Edric then shook Makoto off the blade and gracefully sheathed his sword.
Slowly Edric started walking towards the dragon and Eupherbia.
"Looks like it's over." The dragon said.
"You don't want me to cook the Vrock?" Edric asked.
"No, he's too skinny, not enough meat on his bones." The dragon answered.
"And you Eupherbia? Eupherbia?" Edric asked worriedly.
Eupherbia was pale and flying with difficulty, the light that surrounded her became weaker and she began to fall, quickly Edric put his hand below the fairy preventing it from falling to the ground, Eupherbia was lying there in the palm of Edric's hand.
"What a pity, it looks like she was poisoned, unfortunately we don't have a healer nearby and it will be too late until we reach one." Four said with fake concern in her voice as she tried to hide a smile.
Decadus, on the other hand, looked genuinely sad, he adjusted his glasses as he looked away.
"Hm! I hope this works." Edric said as he placed his Talisman of God above Eupherbia and cast the Antidote miracle, a miracle meant to cure poison, after casting the miracle, color began to return to Eupherbia's body and her light began to grow stronger.
"I cured the poisoning; she will get better in time." Edric said to the dragon.
"Damn it." Four whispered.
Decadus, on the other hand, smiled knowing that the fairy would be fine.
But the moment of happiness was short-lived as the Vrock started to rise, he was still alive. Letting out a mighty screech, the Vrock prepared to fight once more.
"KKKYYYAAA!"
BOOM!
But the fight never continued as the Vrock was blown to pieces by several cannonballs that hit it, and in the distance three airships could be seen approaching the crater.
"Damn it! Now how will I prove that I completed the quest?" Edric asked in frustration as there didn't seem to be anything left of the Vrock.
"Do not worry about it." The black dragon said as it scavenged the remains of the Vrock and emerged with the monster's head dangling from its mouth.
"Fine, then let's go." Edric said to the dragon as he walked away.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Four screamed.
"Away." Edric answered.
"Don't even think about it, you criminal! Now that my forces are here, I won't let you run away again. So, with the authority bestowed upon me as the ruler of the Land of Mountains, I, the Intoner Four, command that… AAAHHH!"
Four never quite finished as she was smashed to the ground by Edric's Dragon Bone Smasher.
"MY BONES!" Four screamed as her face was buried in the ground.
Edric then faced Decadus waiting if he would do something, what Decadus did was unexpected, he dropped to his knees, opened his arms and closed his eyes.
"Come on what are you waiting for!" Decadus shouted at Edric.
"Stay away from me, you disgust me!" Edric said as he pointed at Decadus and walked away.
"Being assaulted with such words… AAAHHH~~~!" Decadus groaned in pleasure.
Then Edric and the black dragon flew away.
Edric's POV
"Attention everyone! Congratulations to Edric, our newest S-Rank adventurer!" Missa squealed as she lifted a mug of beer and placed one foot up on the tavern counter.
"EEEYYY!" All the occupants of the tavern shouted as they raised their drink mugs.
I also took a sip of my drink. Now I had a diamond plaque hanging around my neck, proof that I reached the highest rank.
"What is Edric? Why so serious? This is a time to celebrate." Mass asked me.
"I'm just not used to this kind of thing." And I really am not; I can't imagine this kind of celebration happening in Boletaria today.
"You will get used to it." Missa asserted.
"I hope." I took another sip of my drink, a few minutes passed.
"Have you heard the news? All stolen objects have been returned!" Missa told me.
"I wonder why?" I said as I looked at my bottomless bag, the bag moved a little.
"Perhaps the thief had a change of heart." Missa said while shrugging.
"Hope so. Missa did you do what I asked?" I asked to Missa.
"Yes, just a minute!" Missa said as she headed towards the tavern's kitchen, she came back carrying a large brown bag over her shoulder.
"Thanks." I said as I picked up the bag and draped it over my shoulder.
"You know, I don't know what you intend to do with so much roast beef, but since you paid a considerable amount for it, I won't ask."
"I appreciate it Missa, a great night to you." I said as I bowed slightly to Missa.
"Same to you Edric." Missa said to me as I walked away.
When I left the tavern I ended up facing a large group of people, I already knew what they wanted, I used a healing miracle on each one and went on my way without listening to what they had to say.
I started walking through the streets of the city, the moonlight illuminated my path, eventually I passed through the gates and headed towards the forest, walking through the forest I reached a clearing and there was the black dragon waiting for me.
I made a fire in the center of the clearing and lit it. Then I sat next to the dragon.
"Well, what do I owe the visit to?" The dragon asked me.
"I came to bring you this, since you didn't get your usual meal on our last mission." I said as I placed the bag in front of the dragon and opened it to display the meats inside.
Without saying another word, the dragon began to eat. Suddenly my bottomless bag began to move, Eupherbia flew out and landed on my shoulder, in her hands she carried one of the cookies I bought, she bit the cookie vigorously.
"So what are you going to do now?" I asked Eupherbia.
"I don't know. I don't want to go back to the Land of Forests, the fairies there are a bunch of assholes." Eupherbia said between bites.
"How about you stay with me for now?"
"Serious?!" Eupherbia asked me.
"Yes."
"Thanks!"
"BUT! You will have to promise not to cause any trouble."
"I promise!" Eupherbia said, but I saw that she had one of her hands hidden behind her back, she must be crossing her fingers, and I'll pretend I didn't see that.
"So does that mean the cowardly fairy will accompany us? Great, one more annoying creature to put up with." The dragon growled.
"Hey! Listen here you…" Eupherbia then started to argue with the dragon as she hid behind me.
I couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene, meanwhile I stayed here watching the moon and thinking about what the future awaits me.
POV Unknown
Report Number 2: The knight named Edric has proven to be a growing mystery, not only did he manage to stay on good terms with the black dragon known for its destructive behavior in various branches, but he also managed to win the friendship of a fairy named Eupherbia, how relevant this fairy will be to the future of this branch is still unknown.
Another cause for concern would be the strange source of energy within Edric, which has not been found in any previous branches, and the golden robes that the Intoner Three acquired, I have not been able to determine the origins of these robes, but I have a bad feeling when trying to approach them, it was as if they were alive.
Edric and these robes do not appear in any branches other than this one. But neither have I been able to find them anywhere in that branch's past, nor the place Edric claims he came from. Boletaria, at no time did a place called Boletaria exist in this world.
Perhaps? Perhaps Edric came to this branch from an entirely different branch? But that wouldn't be possible, would it? No matter how different the branch, there are always similarities, Midgard, Zero, Cain, Angerus, Watchers, Tokyo, Nier, Aliens, 2B, 9S. But Edric does not appear in any of these places. If there's a completely different branch, then I need to find it, after all that's part of my job.
End of report.
END OF THE CHAPTER
Thanks for reading this far, leave your reviews about what you think of the story, criticism and suggestions are welcome.
Until the next chapter!